The One
by cheers88
Summary: "It's not every day that a girl lowers her morning Daily Prophet to find the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team standing before her." A collection of L/J short stories.
1. Her Valentine

**Part 1 of a collection of Valentine's shorts…hope you enjoy! Inspiration/ideas for the others welcome : )**

* * *

It's not every day that a girl lowers her morning Daily Prophet to find the entire Gryffindor Quidditch team standing before her. Well, not quite the _full_ team; a certain captain was notably absent.

"Er…hello."

Jason Sanchez was the first to break their ranks, crossing around the table and plopping himself in the empty seat next to her. Lily couldn't help but stare bemused at this boy – one whom Mary had been lusting after since he hit a growth spurt in fourth year – as he promptly shoved an entire muffin in his mouth.

"Spiffing morning innit, Lily?" He swallowed the mouthful in one big gulp and grinned at her.

"Perfectly lovely," drawled Jasmine Singh, a disarming smile on her pixie face. Lily supposed this petite thing shouldn't intimidate her; the girl certainly appeared friendly enough: big, brown doe eyes and an expertly woven plait falling to her waist off her right shoulder. But she hadn't made beater for her soft temperament, and Lily knew enough people who'd been subject to one of Jazz's caustic tongue-lashings to ever doubt that.

She sipped at her coffee in order to hide a weak smile. "Mm…indeed. You lot are up early."

The group exchanged several knowing glances – a mix of bemused and bewildered, for the most apart – that only a crew who spent an inordinately large amount of time together could pull off even somewhat covertly.

"Thea thought we'd have a team breakfast in honor of the special occasion." Clarice Clearwater piped up, loping one of her long legs over the bench opposite Lily and dishing herself a heaping helping of eggs.

Lily relaxed a bit at Clarice's presence; the two had shared a dormitory for the past seven years, after all. The others seemed to ease up, too, for Thaddeus Robins, Althea Goodwin and Jazz all clambered up to join Clarice's side of the table. Henry Hooper, whom she'd tutored for nearly the entire year prior, came over and claimed the spot on her other side. She tried not to raise her eyebrows at this sudden company and busied herself by pouring yet another cup of coffee.

"Best morning _ever,_" enthused little Althea. Really, even as third years and seekers usually came, the girl was quite small.

"Damn straight. Brilliant fucking day," said Thaddeus, shoving a handful of bacon in his mouth. "_Ow_."

Jazz had just elbowed him in the ribs. "Watch your language, prick."

"Jazz," hissed Clarice.

"I'm not the one saying 'fuck' before nine in the morning."

"Not in front of the baby," corrected Henry.

Althea soured, her nose scrunching up. "I'm _not_ the baby anymore. I'm _thirteen_."

"You're pre-pubescent."

"Shut it, Henry!"

"I thought we were supposed to be charming." Jason inclined his head toward Lily, to which she gave him a questioning look.

"Wha–." But she could barely get a word in.

"You're the charmer, Sanchez."

"In general, yes. With J.P.'s girl? Do I _look_ like I have a death wish?"

Jazz smirked. "No, you look like you're one bottle of Sleakeazy's away from being a human oil slick. I briefly entertained the idea of buttering my biscuit in your hair."

Lily felt a jostling at her side; with a sharp grunt, Jason had made to pull his wand out, but she was quicker. Shooting up in her seat, she shouted "Silencio!" and rendered the pair quiet with one quick swish.

She crossed her arms. "Would someone mind explaining what exactly is going on?"

"It's Valentine's Day," Thaddeus stated dumbly.

"And we don't have practice!" chirped Althea.

"Sit down, you're ruining the moment." Henry patted the bench.

"I can't sit when I'm nervous!" Lily blurted out.

The group surveyed each other, Robins letting out a grunt of a laugh and Jazz pointing blankly at her mouth.

"Oh, er, right. Sorry about that." She murmured the countercurse. "Listen: Did James put you up to this? Is this some sort of elaborate distraction for whatever he's got up his sleeve for today?"

Althea frowned. "I don't think this is working, Cece."

"Hope Potter's got somethin' good planned – now that we went and got 'er hopes up. You don't catch on quick for the smartest bird in school." Thaddeus winked at Lily, and nudged Clarice, who was starting to look a bit miffed.

"Merlin, if you'd all act civilized for once, _maybe_ she'd warm up to you!"

"I-I'm warm. Sweating a bit, actually." Lily added, noting the glares that were being shot at her roommate. "I'm just…confused. Are you lot – (an awkward pause) – sucking up to me?"

A hoot of laughter shot out of Jason, while Henry shook his head and leaned into one palm. "We're _definitely _getting reamed for this. I say double the laps next practice; any takers?"

"Two-a-days next week, more like." Jazz added, still regarding the majority of the group with poorly disguised disgust.

Lily made for the table, sitting back down a bit less cautiously. She grinned despite herself. "All right, now. So…you are?"

Jason smirked back at her. "Not necessarily."

Althea sat up on her knees, her eyes bright and eager. "We just wanted you to know we're grateful. Especially me! Chris Harding invited me into Hogsmeade tomorrow….and he's a fifth year, Lily – fifth!"

"And a Ravenclaw, you tiny traitor." hummed Henry.

Clarice dropped her head into her hands, groaning loudly. "Can everyone be quiet for a moment before I'm forced to do unspeakable things to your under garments?"

Jason wiggled his eyebrows. "Now we're talkin', Cece. Show me your skills, babe."

"Aren't you taking out Janet Caruso?" Jazz interrupted.

"Certainly am. S'pose that means something to you?" He pressed his chest out in that manner that only truly self-consumed teenage boys could.

"Not a thing. It's just that she's lovely and you're disgusting."

Lily palmed her wand again, but this time Jason only blew a kiss at his teammate.

"You're letting the jealousy get to you again, Jazzy. I'll cancel if you really want me to."

"Who knew there was such a fine line between sexual tension and blatant dislike?" questioned Clarice.

"I did!" Lily waved her fingers, eager to re-enter the conversation.

"Back to our point?" Althea suggested.

"I'm starting to forget that we had one."

"Perk up, Cece. We're getting there." Henry flashed a toothy smile. "Hi, Lily."

"Hello again, Henry. How's your Cheering Charm these days?"

"Much better. How's that sweater your gran knit you?"

"Ah well, you know what they say about the way wool and small fires get on. But all in the name of learning." She held her coffee up in a mock "cheers."

"You lit her on fire, mate? I thought you said she liked you best." A few pieces of egg sputtered from his mouth as Jason cackled.

Henry leaned forward to look past Lily. "I had a one in six chance. One in five, really. No one likes Jazz best."

"He doesn't mean that," Thea soothed, placing a hand on Jazz's arm.

The latter shrugged, pointing between the two boys. "They're both getting the piss beat out of them next practice. Potter can yell all he wants – sometimes bludgers just have a mind of their own."

"_Speaking_ of practices and Potter." Clarice cleared her throat loudly.

Lily pointed two fingers at her. "Yes, that. Stay on that."

"We just wanted to say thank you." Thaddeus said simply, gulping down a giant swig of orange juice and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "S'all, really."

"For...sorry, what exactly?"

"For me getting to snog Janet as long as I want later, and Thea being able to go out with that ponce of a Ravenclaw. And for not holding grudges even though Hooper lit you on fire. Sorry, just wanted to say it again." Jason looked delighted with this explanation, though it still made little sense to Lily.

"It's Valentine's Day and we don't have practice. And tomorrow's Hogsmeade, but we still don't have practice." Henry added.

She smiled weakly. "I realize there's supposed to be some revelation on my part here, but I'm really not following…"

"Look, Evans: Potter starts dating you and suddenly we're acknowledging holidays and Hogsmeade days. It's not a coincidence."

"He used to make you practice on Hogsmeade days?" Lily asked, incredulous.

A cacophony of grunts, snickers and sighs erupted.

"Something about character building," said Henry.

"Likes to see us suffer, more like, the bastard." Thaddeus bemoaned.

Clarice rolled her eyes. "Merlin, you're wimps. I've dealt with him the longest and I'm not nearly as bitter."

"Even after he scheduled on your birthday last year?"

"Afraid so, Thad."

Lily stroked her chin. "Cece, I thought your birthday was in July…"

"_Exactly_." The two boys said at once.

Jason leaned in. "Remember that blizzard a couple years back when the temperatures were so low that Sprout cancelled greenhouses for the younger kids? Learned the hard way that heating charms are only effective for the first half hour. _Almost lost a toe_."

She guffawed. "And James wasn't sorry about that?"

He pondered this for a moment. "Nah….he seemed pretty happy my hands were all right, though."

"You've never heard of a toe winning the World Cup, have you, Lily?" Thaddeus tapped the side of his forehead, earnest as all hell.

She paused to survey the rest of them, the entire crew looking only semi-sympathetic and much too comfortable with possible frostbite for her peace of mind.

"Do you want me to speak with him about this?"

A mixture of emphatic no's followed:

"Absolutely not" – Clarice

"Fuck no!" – Jason

"Please don't, Lily!" – Thea

"No, never. Ever. Seriously, no." – Henry

"Best not to." – Thaddeus

"Christ, Evans." – Jazz

She held up her palms in surrender. "Okay, okay! I won't say anything. I just thought that maybe –."

"Don't even think it. He'll _know_." Henry held a finger to his lips, looking tragically solemn.

"I don't think he'd want all of you to be harboring all this anger at him when –." But she was again cut off.

"Anger? I could never be mad at Potter." Thaddeus looked upset at the mere idea of it.

Thea was shaking her head insistently, and breezy Clarice had gained a sudden air about her that Lily hadn't seen in all the years they'd shared a dorm.

"We're the best _for a reason_," She stated, not a drop of doubt in her voice.

"They aren't as insufferable as they seem." said Jazz. "The practices _or_ these prats."

Jason leaned in again, this time his voice full of awe. "One time, the good old captain snuck me out of detention so we could try out some new formations for me, him, and Cece. Paid a group of fourth years to clean the trophy room – Filch apparently came to check twice and never knew the difference! Still don't know how he did it. Wiley little minx, your boyfriend."

Lily crinkled her nose, but the corners of her eyes betrayed amusement.

"And if we had off days all the time, we wouldn't be able to appreciate the sheer fucking awesomeness of a day like today." Thaddeus held up a piece of bacon and stared at it like it was the most beautiful sight in all the land.

"You're all quite odd." She paused, thinking, and then grinned, holding her mug just in front of her lips. "I think I like it, though."

"Lucky for you, we're kind of a package deal. And JP says he's in love with you, so that means—."

Lily nearly choked on the coffee "Wha-wh…what?"

"There you fucking go again, git." Jazz threw up her hands.

"Honestly, Jason." Clarice was massaging her temples.

"Quick, Hooper, light her on fire so she forgets!"

But there are some things that a girl will never forget. And sitting in the Great Hall that morning, eating breakfast with a motley group whom she'd come to adore over the course of that spring, finding out entirely by accident that James Potter loved her – that was something Lily Evans would always, _always_ remember.


	2. His Birthday

**Finally putting the s in short storie[s]**

* * *

The room was warm and pungent, a claustrophobic sourness sucking its way into his nostrils as they entered. He squeezed her hand.

"On second thought, I reckon I may have had too high of expectations for this blindfold bit. I'm swiftly regretting all decisions that led me to this moment…"

A soft exhalation against his cheek, and then…_ahhh_…her mouth soft and pliant against his, her tongue just barely tracing his lower lip.

Wryly, "_All_ decisions?"

He grinned and tugged her back to him, his hands clumsily tangling in her hair as he tried to pull her in closer. "Mm.." – kiss – "fresh" – another, held – "air."

She swatted his bum, her laughter louder and sweeter to his ears from the sensory deprivation. She pressed on his shoulders, guiding him down and against a waiting ledge.

"Quit it, or there won't even _be_ a present. I giveth and I can taketh away, Potter."

"Well, don't let the small matter of my birthday keep you from taketh-ing me away from whatever swamplands you've led me to. Mind assuring me again that we're not in the blokes' toilets?"

"Let me remind you that you were _hoping_ I was taking you to the loo. Bloody Naomi Temperly takes Sirius to the Prefects' Bath _once_ and I'll never hear the end of it."

"She specifically spread the rumor that the toilets had overflowed so that they wouldn't be otherwise interrupted, and planned it on the _one_ Tuesday all year when the faucet had strawberry bubbles. Strawberry, Evans – strictly-saved-for-Fridays strawberry. Bloody brilliant, that was. Such finesse for the intricacies of this castle should be remembered and frequently brought up at random and often inappropriate intervals. Someone should write a book about that kind of finesse."

"Or perhaps a map?" The fact that he couldn't see her did not halt the roll of Lily's eyes.

"No worries, love. We can't all be lords of trickery. You have loads of other qualities that top Temperly; many of which I wish I could see at the moment." He extended both hands in a grabbing motion.

She promptly swotted them away.

"For your information, the Prefects' Bath has strawberry bubbles on the third Tuesday of every month. It wasn't a stroke of genius so much as the ability to read a sodding calendar."

"Well, _I_ didn't know that."

"Maybe you should bathe more."

He made a face, which he gathered looked fairly ridiculous with his tie still wound around his eyes.

A finger poked him in the ribs.

"You're ruining my surprise." Her tone was a bit pouty, especially for a girl who wasn't prone to complaints.

"You've used my own clothing to incapacitate me and are leading us to an undisclosed location. Frankly, I'm more besotted with you than ever."

"You're far too easy to impress."

He cleared his throat. "Speaking of clothing, is all of yours still on?"

She snorted. "What is it that all the other girls find so charming about you?"

"For starters, I hear I'm easily impressed. Birds love an easy sell."

He thought he could feel her step closer, and was happy to see his suspicions confirmed when, a moment later, her fingers were massaging his scalp.

"Stop." She commanded, her voice soft.

"Am I ruining the surprise again?"

She ran one hand down his face, stopping at his cheek, the heat from the contact burning onto his skin.

"No, you're making me want to snog you, and _I'm_ trying to blow your mind with the most utterly fantastic birthday surprise the world has ever known. It would suit you to be patient."

"I'd be better if there were two of you: one over here distracting me from the wait, and the other, over there – wherever – preparing this grand gift, quite possibly starkers. Blimey, there's a thought: let's make another of you."

"I hate to interrupt this very astute theorizing, but I really do have a bit more fully clothed preparation to be getting on with. And let me just remind you that you've only been in the blindfold for–," she paused here to check her watch, "—11 minutes."

He blindly held up his arm so that the band on his own wrist was eye-level. "That's not what I have."

She laughed lightly, obliging both their whims in a manner that was all too brief for James's tastes – a quick but firm peck followed by a hurried skip out of his arms.

"It won't be much longer – promise!"

He could hear her shoes plodding across the stone floor as she moved away from him.

"Could I at least ask why you've led me to the dungeons?"

A distinct moment of silence.

"You've known all this time where we are?" Her voice held a tinge of resignation.

"Only staircase that has 37 steps in the castle."

"And you say Naomi Temperly has finesse. You truly frighten me sometimes."

"Says the one of us who has stolen the other's vision."

Another pause. "I don't suppose you know what we've been up to down here lately?"

"Other than the usual tedium?"

She huffed. "Would you call groundbreaking experimentation on the effects of memory potions tedious?"

He scratched the side of his tie. "_Yes_."

"You're impossible."

"A bit jealous actually. Babbling doesn't let us have _half_ the fun in NEWT Runes as Sluggy lets you lot. Yesterday we had an hour and a half long roundtable debating scripture from about 10 centuries ago. Maurene Hamm and Ken Clearwater are in a row again, though, so that made for some damn interesting interpretations. Did you know that there are age-old symbols buried in hundreds of years of lore that actually mean 'liars are the worst sorts of cowards' and 'women with blonde hair are bearers of misfortune and evil'?"

Lily grinned. "And I thought redheads had it bad."

"I think they're perfectly brilliant and lovely."

"Well, you haven't caught me under the third floor staircase groping Matthew Stilts yet."

She paused in her setup to glance over for his reaction. Such a comment would have sent James sulking or raging a few months prior, but his demeanor remained calmly confident.

"Have a thing for Stilts, eh Evans? Reckon you could take Maureen if it came to a duel, but would you really want to waste all that energy for a prick without a prick?"

She snorted. "Is Stilts, er, poorly endowed?"

"He would be after I got to him."

_Ah, there was her James_. She smirked.

"All right, Potter. Enough small talk. Time to get down to business."

"At last. Sweet Merlin, it takes you long to undress!"

"I'm going to start adding layers if you don't watch it."

James ignored this, and held out both arms. "Come to me, mistress of my destiny. My fate is in your hands."

Lily very nearly cackled, but also moved so that she was within his reach. When she was close enough, she ran her hands through his hair once more. "You're very strange."

"But compatibly so?" He offered hopefully, the corners of his lips turning up with affection. This kind of mild smile was somehow just as endearing as his cocky smirk, and it again gave Lily that irritatingly strong urge to snog him senseless.

"I think the events of this evening might prove to be…illuminating." She answered, choosing her words very carefully. "Now stand up."

The smile widened into an irrepressible grin. "I'm excited. _Piss myself_ excited."

It occurred to her then that James Potter's inability to keep himself from expressing literally any thought that came to his mind was one of her favorite qualities of his.

"Good – you should be. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to chat a bit more about what I've been working on with Professor Slughorn…he's been helping me with a..err…_personal_ project lately. "

His frown was instantaneous. "Phrases I _don't_ want to hear on my birthday."

Her eyes narrowed. "You're going to feel like a real prat soon."

* * *

She liked to think the idea had been ripening in her mind since a rather significant night they'd spent together a few months prior. The Night.

It had been just before Christmas hols and, laying in the Head Boy's bed, stark naked with her cheek pressed against his chest (all parts of her pressed to something of his, so it seemed), Lily Evans had never felt so vulnerable.

Not one to be fond of the delicate girl role, she had propped herself up on one elbow – chin in hand – and fixed him with a stern stare.

"Tell me something."

The corners of his lips quirked up into a salacious smirk, and as she felt the soft pads of his fingers snaking their way up to her bum, she quickly amended, "Something serious."

His eyebrows lifted, a perceived dart of panic in his gaze. She bent her head then, drawing what she hoped were distracting patterns on his arm.

"Not too serious…just, I don't know, something no one else knows." Certaintly not _that._ Not _yet. _Not if he didn't want to.

He narrowed his eyes but also ran a free hand through her hair. "All right, I s'pose I'll play your game, Evans. But I'm not looking at you when I tell you."

Unbeknownst to him – as her head was still pressed to his chest – she grinned, delighted. "You already have something?"

Grudgingly: "_Yes_."

She poked him in the ribs. "Well, go on then, wimp."

He took a deep breath, her body rising and falling with him. "Give me a moment to collect myself, yeah?"

"Merlin, I didn't ask for a dramatic re-enactment – just a simple story. That's all." She gave the skin on his abdomen a playful squeeze.

"_Owww_." His complaint was emphatic, but his free hand was already interlacing with the offending fingers, and then: "I was eight. England was in the Cup for the first time in half a century."

"James, are you telling me a story about Quidditch?"

"Oy, with the tone!"

She sighed. "I thought you were taking me seriously, but if—."

"I _am_. Now, pipe down and let me talk."

"Go on then. Something about bludgers, yada yada yada."

"_Anyway_, I was ten. Dad was in dorms at school with the Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports at the time, and he'd gotten us the most brill seats. They were literally a couple rows from the Minister, Lily. That's once in a bloody lifetime stuff, ya know?"

"Mmhmm."

"Trust me, it was. Well, me and Bigs—."

"Bigs?"

"Will Bigsby. Ravenclaw, graduated three years ago." He elaborated dismissively, and then with an unnoticed eye roll: "If memory serves me, you dated his friend Powell."

She smiled. "Geoff Powell! He was my first kiss."

He frowned, his eyebrows knitting together in a complete forehead pout. "Yes, I know. Me and Bigs, er, _lost touch _for a bitafter that one."

She lifted her chin so that she could fix him with a stern appraisal. "You mean after you charmed his best friend's robes into smelling of bacon before Care of Magical Creatures?"

"Luckily Bigs doesn't have the memory of a bloody elephant like some people I know. We're fine, Evans – it's how we've always been. Which…actually sort of relates here." He paused, thinking for a moment, and then continued. "Anyway, he lived pretty close by growing up and we used to see each other most days. His mum and my mum have been family friends for as long as either can remember. They took us into Hogsmeade the day before the match because they were selling game jerseys at Gladrags. We waited until Mum and Mrs. Bigsby got into their usual chat with the storekeeper and snuck into Zonkos."

"Why did you have to sneak in?"

"Our mums had banned us after a series of...mishaps. _Anyway_, Bigs had just ended his third year and had been telling me stories all summer about Hogsmeade trips with his mates at school. Apparently, this bloke Simkins – he graduated before our time – ate a whole box of Dragon Breath Bonbons and put on quite the show for the common room before hols."

"I've never heard of those…"

"Well, you wouldn't. I got them discontinued."

She sat all the way up this time. "_What?_"

James flushed slightly, but his eyes were still bright with the thrill of past hijinks. "I was a bit jealous, and I started to worry that once I got to Hogwarts, Bigs would start to think I was just this little blighter always hanging 'round. I wanted to prove myself, so I got Bigs to buy me the pack…and when we got home that day, I ate a whole box." He swallowed then, making a nasty face. "Bigs never mentioned that Simkins was a 250 pound seventh year…and I was – well, you remember me first year."

Lily covered her mouth, her eyes wide with a strange mix of humor, revulsion and panic. "Now…am I right to assume that Dragon Breath Bonbons made you…breathe fire?"

James crinkled his nose and adjusted his glasses, growing more fidgety by the second. "_One_ did."

"And an entire box?"

"Well, for Simkins, it made him capable of blowing a fucking fireworks show of flames for an entire night." He eyed her skeptically, heaving a sigh. "For a scrawny ten year old, it was, er, erratic...and moreso fireballs than flames. I couldn't control it. I singed half our lawn, caught my own head on fire and lost most my hair—."

She reached up to worriedly stroke the side of his head. "And then it grew back like this?"

"_No_," He grudgingly corrected. "It grew back the way it always was." And then pointedly, "Why?"

She bit her lip and continued stroking. "Did I interrupt you? Finish the story, love. Your poor thing."

He glared for a moment more, but continued. "You weren't really supposed to eat for a couple hours after them – I guess because your throat is essentially, well, hostile. So, I did wait...but not long enough. I ended up vomiting turkey and fire, and that's how Mum found me. She took me straight to Mungo's and they got me fixed up fairly quickly considering, but they wouldn't let me out the next day. The day of the match."

"You missed it?"

His eyes had grown solemn, and she tried very hard to hold her mirth. It didn't quite work out, and she burst into giggles.

"Lily!"

"I—I'm so sorry. Th-this is s-so terrible of me." She spat out between peals of laughter. "B-but you…you realize how ridiculous you are? And I'm picturing you with no hair."

He crossed his arms. "There's a moral of sorts to the story."

"Well, yes – don't eat an entire box of something that will make you breathe fire after just one!"

"That's moot – I told you, they're discontinued."

"Thanks to you!"

"Yes, thanks to me – children everywhere should be writing me letters of their eternal gratitude. It was hell."

She snuggled in once more, cupping the side of his cheek with affection. "Your moral, my knight?"

"I guess it's not really a moral. But Mum sat with me that entire day afterward – and don't you think she coddled – it was a grand lecture and easily five straight hours of making me feel like a ponce. It was the first time someone made me actually regret something stupid I'd done…and I did, I really regretted it. At first, mostly because I missed the game, mind you – but then it was her face, too. She looked so disappointed…and you know – only child syndrome – that _never_ happened. And scared. I scared her."

He looked her square in the eyes before continuing. "And for a long time that was the only moment I truly regretted something…until a certain classmate of mine completely reamed me out by the lake in fifth year. I think I would've eaten five boxes of Dragon Breath Bonbons not to have seen the way you looked at me that day."

She stiffened, but her eyes were still soft. A few beats passed between them where nothing was said, but Lily was choosing her words quite precisely.

"You know, I like it that you live by your own rules. Making no apologies most of the time means that when you do, you mean them. You don't placate me. Words don't really mean anything if you can't back them up."

Their eyes met then. And the way he was looking at her, she was sure that he was about to say something that he could back up. _He was going to say it_.

But then he just kissed her, and The Night would stand alone as only one rather momentous occasion.

* * *

Lily dipped a hand into her pants pocket to retrieve the vial she'd been surreptitiously storing there. She swiftly unplugged it and, with a flick of her wrist, emptied its contents into the stone basin that stood before her and James. Upon dipping her head forward to peek inside, she grinned.

"We're all set, love. I'm going to need you to trust me just a little bit more."

"I'm not giving you any of my blood if that's what you're asking."

"Just…relax, and don't resist."

"This sounds promising."

She moved behind him and pressed on his back so that he stepped forward, his stomach brushing the stone.

"Grab on." And he did.

"Hmm..." He murmured.

"Oh, and James? Don't take the blindfold off until I get there."

"Wha—?" He didn't have time to question her, for she pressed much more firmly against his upper back, and the unexpected force of the movement propelled him forward into the basin.

The roar that met his ears when he stopped falling caused a flurry of panic in James's chest.

"Lily! LILY! Lil, are you here?"

Arms encircled his waist.

"Hey there, birthday boy."

"_Did we just apparate_?"

She smirked. "Take the blindfold off, Potter."

And he did. And gaped.

"I—I…where…._what_? Fucking A, Lily, are we…?"

The noises around them were deafening, and because she had a feeling that he was already sussing things out for himself, Lily took a moment to look around and appreciate what she'd accomplished. The stadium was humongous – far bigger than its Hogwarts counterpart – and they were quite high up. As high as they could be, in fact. She wasn't the type of witch to be impressed by this sort of thing, but the sheer amount of people around her, the deep purple accents of the carpet and streams of velvety ribbon that flanked the perimeter, the electric buzz in the air…well, it was _rather memorable._

"At the Quidditch World Cup, 1970? Yes, yes we are."

He was still gaping, his head swiveling from side to side to take it all in as quickly as he could. "Wait, so…fuck, we're…what did we just do exactly? H-how did you do this?"

Grinning, she gently pointed his chin toward the two rows of purple-and-gilt chairs that sat in the box to the left of the staircase they occupied. "Your dad's not the only one with connections, kid."

He narrowed his eyes for a few seconds to search, and then let out a contagious hoot of laughter. "Is that my mate Sluggy over there? Well, fuck me."

She giggled. "We'll get to that, but for now we have a match to watch. And you see those two seats right there in the back row? Word on the street is that they're not going to make it. Shall we?"

But he was still too awestruck to move. "Lily, I…My brain still isn't piecing this…_how_ did you do it? Can people see us? I….holy hell."

"Well, it turns out that you have pretty much everything you could ever need, Potter. And that's tough for a girlfriend to compete with on birthday, so I had to get creative. And, like I mentioned earlier, we've been using a Pensieve to experiment with memory potions in class…and it just sort of came to me. Professor Slughorn is always going on and on about all the incredible things he's seen over the years. I thought, hell, if anyone saw England's first-in-a-century great triumph, it was him. And in case you haven't noticed, the man is essentially putty in my hands, so–."

"Can you blame him?" And without further ado, she was promptly scooped up into her boyfriend's arms and swung around several times, rather sloppy kisses being pressed to whichever part of her head he could reach.

"And no, no one can see us. Which is lucky for you, because this is a rather obnoxious public display of affection."

"Yes, well, I'm feeling rather obnoxiously affectionate at the moment. Come on, love." Sliding a hand under her bum to support her weight, he stepped into the box and carried her with him to the aforementioned empty seats.

"Once in a lifetime seats, my arse."

Still giddy, he pinched the body part in question before setting her down. "What was that about your arse?"

"Merlin, James, do you see who that is in front of us? I didn't even think of the people who'd be in this box. That's Tilden Tremberly, and look…the Minister and his wife are right there, and—."

"And you. The spectacular Lily Evans is sitting right next to me. What did I do to earn such a pleasure?"

"You're ace in bed."

"I reckoned it had something to do with that."

* * *

And much later on:

"You know, I have a third regret."

They were back at Hogwarts, retracing their 37 steps from earlier, on the way back to their dorms. After what Lily considered to be a perfectly executed surprise, she couldn't think of a single regret to be had. What could have possibly gone wrong?

"Excuse me?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Not from tonight, of course." He amended. "But, well, you obviously remember me telling you the significance of that game. And I wanted you to know that I've added a third regret since we talked that night."

"Oh have you?" She played along.

"I meant to tell you I was in love with you. It scared the piss out of me, to be honest, and you were very naked and it was making it very hard to think. And I know I've said it a hundred times since, but there's nothing like making up for missed opportunities, eh?"

There certainly wasn't.


End file.
